UKRAINIAN manufacturers, service providers and logistics firms can now benefit from local support in using specialist planning and scheduling software to maximise the flexibility of their businesses.

Ukrainian software development company SoftServe, based in Lviv, has partnered with UK-based Preactor International in order to provide scheduling solutions to businesses across the country.

This is the first time that firms in Ukraine will have had access to the Preactor range of production planning and scheduling software.

SoftServe will provide on-the-ground support and consultancy for businesses using Preactor. SoftServe’s existing expertise in providing QAD software, an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution, will additionally enable it to advise on how the two systems can fully integrate to help companies manage their production in a more agile and efficient way, even when demand varies from week to week.

The firm is Ukraine’s largest software development company, employing more than 1,700 IT professionals.

SoftServe joins a network of more than 400 Preactor partners worldwide, who provide local, expert advice and support to businesses using Preactor in more than 75 countries. They are a key part of the firm’s business model, being the main route to market for the Preactor software products around the world.

Training for SoftServe consultants has already taken place in Chippenham, UK, allowing them to advise on the full range of Preactor products.

Another vital part of SoftServe’s ability to support users across Ukraine will be the support the company receives from its nearest Preactor business development partner, Poland-based Pretczynski.

Pretczynski is an expert in the Preactor range of scheduling software, having been a partner of Preactor International for 10 years, and has been key in setting up the partnership with SoftServe. Pretczynski’s advisers will provide consultancy support and training to SoftServe as it establishes its Preactor business in Ukraine.

Nataliya Yurystovska, QAD department manager for SoftServe, said: “....Recently our QAD customers have shown a growing interest in scheduling software. We always recommended Preactor as our APS solution for QAD. Now we feel that it’s time to get deeper knowledge about Preactor and become the experts. We are happy to join the Preactor community and appreciate the great help we’ve received from Michal Pretczynski. ”

Michal Pretczynski, partner at Pretczynski, said the new partnership with SoftServe is the result of seven months of collaboration between the two firms.

“We are very excited to be working with SoftServe, and we have high hopes for its success with Preactor in Ukraine,” he said.

“We know from our own experience that it is very important to have support, such as knowledge sharing, at the early stage of bringing Preactor to the developing market, and our goal is to provide this support to SoftServe.”

Preactor International confirmed that the partnership with SoftServe was a significant development for the business’s already strong links with ERP systems such as QAD.

“We have a long-standing track record of integrating Preactor software with QAD, and working with SoftServe will allow us to reinforce this strong alliance,” said Valerie Goulevitch, Head of Global Marketing and Communications.